Zimbabwe

Suresh Raina scored a crucial century in an unbeaten 196-run partnership with his skipper MS Dhoni as India came back from trouble and showed their batting mettle, to beat Zimbabwe by six wickets at Eden Park in their highest successful chase in World Cups.

Ed Joyce's flamboyant century helped Ireland script another memorable World Cup win edging Zimbabwe out by just five runs at Bellerive Oval in probably the thriller of the tournament so far, letting valiant knocks from Brendan Taylor and Sean Williams go waste.

Zimbabwe, who put up a strong fight against South Africa in their World Cup opener, promised an aggressive and relentless approach ahead of their next league match against the United Arab Emirates on Thursday.

Almost by right, a World Cup ought to have a team deemed clear favourites to lift the trophy. In 2011, co-hosts India and Sri Lanka were the anointed ones, and they did meet in the final, with the former clinching their second title. In both 2003 and 2007, Australia were the obvious choice and they didn’t disappoint.